


Terminal Illness

by gurajiorasu



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Crack, Fluff, Hospitals, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-19
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-03-02 05:19:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2800991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gurajiorasu/pseuds/gurajiorasu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fact that everyone had witnessed how lately Sho would fall back to his seat for a moment when he tried to stand up - cursing with pain under his breath every time - made it harder to castaway ugly thoughts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Terminal Illness

Sho shifted his body ever so slightly. He wanted to sit up, to face his considerate best friends properly. But then he hissed, as he felt a pang of headache ambushed him. For a split second, he could see nothing but stars - in a bad way, of course.

“Stop, Sho san. Just lie down,” Jun put his hands on both of Sho’s shoulders, pushing the older down back to the bed gently.

“My head hurts,” Sho let Jun fixes the blanket around his body.

Nino instinctively turned his head to Ohno, as if searching for a sign that it was just a dream or something. He desperately _begged_ with his eyes for someone to tell him that Sho wasn’t there in hospital bed, absolutely weak and pale. Sho rarely complained about being sick - complaining and whining were never on his neatly prepared schedule - so when he did, it could only mean that it was _serious_.

All of them had overheard fractions of conversation from outside the rather busy intensive care unit. _‘Cancer’_ and _‘terminal’_ was definitely there, but no one would admit that they heard it.

Ohno squeezed Sho’s hand with one hand and brushed Sho’s hair lightly with the other, “It will be better.”

“I’m sorry to cause a trouble,” Sho whispered. He glanced at the clock and made a face, “You guys should have gone to perform without me. We can’t afford the penalty of not showing up.”

“We can,” surprisingly, it was Nino who answered immediately. His expression was panic, there’s an unexplainable fear bubbling up in him and it flew out in form of aggressive tone, “We’ve worked enough to even _buy_ them, so the penalty is out of question.”

“Besides, we couldn’t perform with only four people, ne?” Ohno reasoned with a soft voice, obviously trying to ease the suffocating air around them.

Sho caught that little troubled expression that Aiba unconsciously made. Now he understood how Aiba felt when he was hospitalized. The feeling of being a burden, the sudden overflowing fondness to his band-mates, the sick feeling of _not wanting_ to leave them, but-  
“Maybe you should start to get used to it. Performing with only four, I mean,” Sho tried to smile but he couldn’t manage more than a small bitter one.

Nino, who by then was already drowned in his own fear, found the words really offending. He went violent; his arms stretched out to grab Sho’s collar but luckily, Jun and Ohno reacted fast enough. He still managed to scream like a madman, though, “What do you think you’re saying, you moron?! Don’t talk about it like it’s-”

“Nino, hey, Nino, ssshh..,” Ohno prevented Nino from getting too close to Sho by holding the younger tight in his embrace. Nino struggled and trashed but, as tears started to flow out his eyes, he surrendered. Ohno rubbed Nino’s back up and down and the room fell into silence, saved from Nino’s faint sobs.

In one corner, as silent as he could be, Aiba wiped every single teardrop that was threatening to wet his cheeks. The familiar ugly feeling seeped into his soul and he was just too scarred and sad that he couldn’t do anything. The moment Sho’s manager called them with incoherent panic yells, telling them that Sho couldn’t manage to stand up thus he had to crawl to open his apartment door before fainting, his brain had stopped working altogether.

The fact that everyone had witnessed how lately Sho would fall back to his seat for a moment when he tried to stand up - cursing with pain under his breath every time - made it harder to castaway ugly thoughts.

“You know my part so well, Nino, you could take over it just fine, right?” Sho knew he shouldn’t but he couldn’t help it. Suddenly he felt so blue.

“No! You do it yourself, you jerk!” Nino screamed again.

“Jun, you could take my books. I know you have your eyes on some of them. Feel free to take it,” Sho didn’t hear Nino’s shouts. He was deep in his own thoughts.

“No, Sakurai Sho,” Jun said firmly, “Just- no. Don’t say things like that.”

“Aiba chan, promise me to keep Arashi going, okay? Be their strength, keep them from quitting,” Sho gulped down the lump that was there in his throat.

Aiba didn’t say anything. He emitted a strangled sob and slid down to the floor, hiding his face beneath his knees. His body was shaking like crazy.

“Ohno san, take care of them for me,” Sho shot a begging gaze to Ohno.  
“Take care of our princess, take care of our Aiba chan, and take care of our-,” Sho shifted his gaze to Nino, “-take care of _my_ Nino.”

Nino shook his head rapidly, he refused everything that Sho just said, “No, dammit! _You_ are the one who should take care of me! _You_!”

Sho just smiled with quivering lips. Then, as his last defense crumbled down to ashes, he croaked, “Believe me, I would if I could. I would take care all of you with my own two hands if I could. I would, really.”

Sho trembled from his overflowing emotions. Nino freed himself from Ohno and rushed to Sho, fortunately not to strangle him but to wrap his arms around Sho’s neck, “Then, do it. I- I- I’d give you my money, my games, my mangas, my _everything_ , just don’t- don’t-”

Nino couldn’t bring himself to finish his plea and seeing him like that was completely heartbreaking for the others. Slowly, they inched closer to the bed and joined the hug. No word was exchanged anymore.

They didn’t even care when a doctor walked in and cleared his throat awkwardly, “Ano..”

Jun straightened up his body properly and bowed slightly to the doctor. Everyone was looking up to the doctor, hearts were already prepared to be broken utterly.

“I’m the doctor for Sakurai san,” the doctor started, “We’ve examined Sakurai san and run some tests on him.”

“And the result?” Ohno urged.

“He’s exhausted and he has anemia. Rest properly and take some supplements and he would be as healthy as ever again,” the doctor said, still with slightly confused expression at a messy pile of five crying men in front of him.

Silence fell like no other.

“Anemia?” Aiba finally asked.

“Yes,” the doctor confirmed, “Oh, and hangover worsened it a lot. That’s why he fainted today.”

“Uh- no cancer?” Ohno carefully questioned.

The doctor seemed to be shocked, “Cancer? Oh! It’s the patient in the next room.”

Slowly, _horribly_ slowly, the four men turned their heads to one gaping Sakurai Sho.

“Umh.. uh- yokatta?” Sho tried with an unsure grin on his face.

The four men just stared as slowly, _excruciatingly_ slowly, their brain took in that they just cried their hearts out like they were on a cheesy drama just because of _anemia_ and _an all-night-long party_.

And to think that Sho had dictated his _will_ dramatically and made their hearts scattered to the floor just made it unacceptable.

Furiously, Nino wiped his tears roughly with his pudgy hands. He threw a menacing glare towards Sho and turned on his heels, “Let’s go, guys. We have a _four-_ member rehearsal to do. If we start early enough maybe we could introduce the new formation by the end of the year.”

“Oy!” Sho shouted, “How about me?”

“I don’t care. You might as well be _dead_ and I don’t care,” Nino growled and disappeared behind the door. He was irritated because he had _expressed_ his love for nothing.

Sho’s jaw hung open. He darted his eyes towards the remaining three men, seeking for help.

Ohno shrugged, “Well, you _did_ say to get used with four people,” he chuckled and started to walk away, “Now please excuse me for I have to take care of Nino. You know, it’s a _dying_ friend of mine’s last wish.”

Jun giggled before following his leader, “I have to excuse myself too. Nino’s rap could do some adjustment, I think.”

Sho turned to Aiba with a victimized look.

“What? Don’t look at me, I didn’t say anything!” Aiba said and dashed to join his friends, leaving Sho alone.

“Isn’t there anyone who is glad that I’m at least not dying?!” Sho shouted desperately and he only got laughter as reply.

Not even a minute had spent when Sho heard rushed steps coming back to his room.  
It was not Ohno or Aiba and certainly not Jun.

It was Nino.

With a pout on his face and tears still pooled in his eyes, Nino stomped back to Sho and hugged the older tight.  
“I’m kidding, don’t be dead.”


End file.
